Drop That Name -- You're Under Arrest!

WHILE WAITING IN AN AIRPORT many years ago, Judy Kestner looked up as passengers disembarked from a flight and locked eyes with the poet Maya Angelou. What happened next lives vividly in Judy's memory:

A. Both women smiled slightly and nodded to each other and Angelou walked past Judy and into the ladies' room.

B. Judy stood, grasped Angelou's hand and gushed how she had loved "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" for such a long time that the writer had to firmly pull her hand free and rush away with an unbelieving backward glance.

C. While the women were looking at each other, Angelou tripped and fell to the floor, the contents of her purse spilling every which way.

D. Several reporters approached Angelou, shouting and asking questions, and the look in her eyes changed from a friendly "hello" to "HELP!"
 
ANSWER:  Judy believes that Maya Angelou will forever be indebted to her because she did not impede the woman's progress to the rest room.  The Answer is A.
 
 
ONE AFTERNOON DURING THE TIME he worked on the Broadway show "Chicago," Roger Monaco was taken by Jerry Orbach, one of the show's stars, to the home of:

A. Frank "Punchy" Illiano in Brooklyn, a member of the Genovese crime family, who was fascinated by Roger's stellar magic tricks.

B. Jerry's son, Tony, whose wife fixed them a lunch of tuna salad with spice cake and coffee for dessert.

C. Jerry's mother, Emily, in the Bronx and promptly fell asleep on the couch, leaving Roger alone in the kitchen with Mrs. Orbach, trying to make conversation.

D. author Kurt Vonnegut, one of Orbach's biggest fans, where Kurt played a recording of "Promises, Promises" for which Orbach won a Tony Award, and had Orbach autograph the album cover.

 
ANSWER:  Jerry Orbach was a consummate actor, and many accolades have been heaped upon him in not only in life but also after his death, in 2004 at the age of 69, of prostate cancer, but according to Roger, one of Orbach's most surprising claims to fame was that he knew "every" mafioso on the East Coast.  Again, the answer is A.
 
 

IN 1988 ROGER MONACO was working on the Jackie Mason one-man show "The World According to Me." One afternoon Mason, on his way out to lunch, told Roger that one of his friends was on his way to the theater and asked Roger to send him to the Edison Coffee Shop. There was a knock at the door and Roger opened it to see Jack Paar. What happened next is a fond memory for Roger as he

A. talked Paar into sitting with him for a few minutes so he could show him some magic, and heard Paar say, "You have amazed me, and I'm not easily amazed."

B. walked Paar to the coffee shop, chatting amicably with the former Tonight Show host all the way.

C. took out his wallet and handed $20 to Paar who admitted that he didn't have enough cash on him to buy lunch at the Edison.

D. saw, out of the corner of his eye, several of his co-workers peering around a corner, enviously watching him chatting with the TV star.
 
ANSWER:  Jack Paar, known to be unpredictable and emotional, was witty and had a somewhat dry sense of humor.  The guests on his late-night TV show ran the gamut from well-known politicians and entertainers to the Muppets and, evidently, Jackie Mason.  Roger was thrilled to accompany Paar to the Edison Coffee Shop and reunite the two friends.  The answer is B.


WHEN DIANA FIEG MONACO WAS INVITED to the posh Manhattan apartment of Sting, the rock and roll idol and former lead singer for The Police, she was startled when she came through the door because:

A.  though Diana was in evening clothes, Sting and all his guests were dressed in Greek togas.

B.  Sting leaned forward and gave Diana a big kiss.

C.  Sting had been drinking so much that Diana had to steady him as he "escorted" her into the party.

D.  Sting stinks.

ANSWER:  Sting, born Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner, was in New York performing in the 1989 revival of "Threepenny Opera" on Broadway.  Through her ex-husband, Roger Monaco, who was working the lights on the show, Diana snagged the invite to a cast party at Sting's lodgings but was slightly shocked that Sting displayed such affection, especially in front of her husband!  The answer is B.


KEVIN AND ANNE WHITESIDE STILL, visiting the fabulous Caribbean Turks and Caicos Islands, were granted permission to visit Parrot Cay, the pre-eminent private island that is home to Bruce Willis, Kirstie Alley, Mick Jagger and other high-profile public personalities, but only on the condition that they not speak to or otherwise disturb any of the celebrities.  Kevin, however, disregarded the protocol when he bumped into Bruce Willis because:

A.  Willis was standing on his foot.

B.  Willis was wearing a T-shirt from Purdue U., alma mater of Kevin's two sons.

C.  Willis was wearing a green and yellow John Deere tractor cap.

D.  Kevin mistook Willis for Humphrey Bogart, exclaiming, "Bogey!  I thought you were dead!"

ANSWER:  Willis, the 5' 8" A-list actor, is so self-effacing that he has compared himself to a cross between Humphrey Bogart and Fred Flintstone.  His commonality is part of his charm and on this day, slumming in a John Deere cap, he reminded Kevin of his rural Indiana customers to whom he sells grain, fertilizer and fuel.  He said, "Hey, I like your hat.  I'm the general manager of an agriculture supply company."  Willis replied, "Good for you."  The answer, therefore, is C.


LISA FIEG AND ACTOR PAUL REUBENS share one thing in common:
A. both Paul and Lisa live on the same street in Long Island City.

B. both Paul and Lisa attended the now defunct Bugbee Middle School, then a private institution in Oneonta, NY.

C. both Paul and Lisa can often be seen lining up for fresh clams at the New Fulton Fish Market in the Bronx.

D. both Paul and Lisa get their hair styled at Liz Russell's Third Avenue Salon.

ANSWER:  Paul Reubens, better known as Pee Wee Herman, was born in Peekskill, NY and eventually graduated from high school in Sarasota, FL but in between those milestones, Reubens and his family lived in Oneonta, home of the Bugbee School which was a campus school for the State University at Oneonta. Bugbee opened for students in grades K-8 in September 1932.  Ninth grade and kindergarten were later added and the school graduated its last class in 1975.  Herman's childhood experiences in Oneonta and as a Bugbee alumnus made such an impression that he speaks fondly of them to this day, though he and Lisa never met.  The surprising answer is B!